Refresh Windows 8

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Administrator

This will show you how to refresh your Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 PC to restore it's original settings, while your accounts, files, personlizations settings, network settings, and Windows Store apps remain unaffected.

This will show you how to refresh your Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 PC to restore it's original settings, while your accounts, files, personlizations settings, network settings, and Windows Store apps remain unaffected.

How to Refresh Windows 8 and Windows 8.1​

Information

This will show you how to use a new feature in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 to refresh your PC to keep all personal data, Metro style apps, and important settings from the PC, and reinstall Windows.

If a recovery image provided by your PC's manufacturer is present, Windows 8 will use that image when you refresh your PC. Otherwise, Windows 8 will use your installation media when you refresh your PC.

This refresh feature is something close to like what doing a repair install in Windows 7 and Vista was for, but made a lot easier, faster, and safer to do now in Windows 8.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

Refreshing your PC goes like this:

The PC boots into Windows RE (Recovery Environment).

Windows RE scans the hard drive for your data, settings, and apps, and puts them aside (on the same drive).

Windows RE installs a fresh copy of Windows.

Windows RE restores the data, settings, and apps it has set aside into the newly installed copy of Windows.

If you create a custom recovery image, a refresh will also contain the desktop apps you've installed, and the Windows system files in their current state. If you would like to be able to refresh Windows 8 with a custom recovery image, then you would need to create and register a custom image first.

If you set UAC toAlways notify me, then you will not be able to use the refresh and reset Windows 8 features. These features require UAC to be set to the default or lower level to work.

If you have an OEM PC that came with Windows 8 preinstalled and updated to Windows 8.1, then when you refresh Windows, it will restore Windows 8. Afterwards, you will need to update to Windows 8.1 via the Store again.

3. If prompted, select the Windows 8 or 8.1 that you want to refresh. (see screenshot below)​

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4. Click/tap on Refresh. (see screenshot below)​

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5. Windows 8 or 8.1 will now start to be refreshed.​

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6. When it's finished, you can now log back on to a refreshed Windows 8 or 8.1. (see screenshots below)​

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Note

If any apps were removed during the refresh, you will find a Removed Apps.html file on the desktop detailing what it removed and at what time.

Note

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You will also now have a Windows.old folder that has been placed in the root directory of the Windows 8 or 8.1 drive that contains a copy of the previous Windows 8 or 8.1 installation before it was refreshed. This folder can be quite large in size, so the tutorial below will show you how to delete it if you like.​

1. While signed in as an administrator in Windows 8 or 8.1, do step 2 or 3 below depending on which option you would prefer to use.​

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2. Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Recovery icon, click/tap on the If you're experiencing problems with your PC, you can refresh it in PC settings link, and go to step 4 or 5 below. (see screenshot below)​

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3. Open PC settings, and do step 4 or 5 below for the Windows 8 you have installed.​

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4. If you have Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1​

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A) On the left side in PC settings, click/tap on Update & Recovery. (see screenshot below)​

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B) On the left side in Update & Recovery, click/tap on Recovery, click/tap on the Get started button under the Refresh your PC without affecting your files section on the right side, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below​

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5. If you have Windows 8 or Windows RT​

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A) Click/tap on General on the left side, click/tap on the Get started button under the Refresh your PC without affecting your files section on the right side, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)​

11. When it's finished, you can now log back on to a refreshed Windows 8 or 8.1. (see screenshots below)​

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Note

If any desktop apps (programs) were removed during the refresh, you will find a Removed Apps.html file on the desktop detailing what it removed and at what time.

You will also now have a Windows.old folder that has been placed in the root directory of the Windows 8 or 8.1 drive that contains a copy of the previous Windows 8 or 8.1 installation before it was refreshed. This folder can be quite large in size, so the tutorial below will show you how to delete it if you like.

My Computer

New Member

On mine, Refresh and Reset never worked. Failed reset (probably successful one too) created a folder called $Sysreset at the root of C: , consisting of another folder called logs which contained an .etl file. It also created an etl of a different name (sysreset_exe_BootUX.etl) inside C:\recovery\Logs. Opened this etl in event viewer but the error is exotic, the online help thing doesn't work.

The reason I was tinkering with reset/refresh was iso's are not seen as disk images so the mount option doesn't come up.

Will do some more research.

My Computer

New Member

Just as I have come to expect from you Shawn; another informative tutorial laid out in a manner so that all users can benefit. For friends that I've helped or referred (to the forum sites), as well as myself - Thank You. Now I've a question for you. As the copies of Windows I've had have either came on the computer itself or an upgrade was purchased online, I have never had an installation disk. If I wanted to refresh 8 do I have to create bootable media from the original ISO? Will this work for 7? (it's repair not refresh there, isn't it?) I've re-installed 7 (vista & xp too) a couple of times on several different pc's always using a downloaded Microsoft ISO (never have seen an actual installation disk). I should just make the media and see for myself and find out first hand, true? Most likely, that's what I'll do; however, I'd like to here what you've got to say about this matter.
Thanks again Shawn.
Steve

New Member

Brink: Can you clarify what the exact difference is between a Refresh and a Reset? I know that Refresh lets you keep your files, whereas a Reset doesnt. But does a Refresh let you keep only your user files (C:\Users\<YourUsernameHere>) while deleting all programs you've installed, or do you get to keep both? I assume a Reset means a near-complete wipe, which presumably would put your PC back to the state it was in right after you finished installing 8.